"Hurts Like Heaven"
Single by Coldplay
from the album Mylo Xyloto
Released8 October 2012 (2012-10-08)
Recorded2010
Genre
Length
  • 4:02 (album version)
  • 4:20 (Single edit)
  • 3:58 (US radio edit)
LabelParlophone
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Coldplay singles chronology
"Princess of China"
(2012)		 "Hurts Like Heaven"
(2012)		 "Atlas"
(2013)
Music video
"Hurts Like Heaven" on YouTube

"Hurts Like Heaven" is a song by British rock band Coldplay from their fifth studio album, Mylo Xyloto. It was written by all members of the band along with producer Brian Eno, being released as the final single from the record on 8 October 2012. The track promoted the comics which tied into the original story from Mylo Xyloto.[4] On 16 April 2013, the band announced it as a 7" limited single for Record Store Day, with a live version of "Us Against the World" serving as its B-side.[5]

Background

In an interview with The Independent, lead singer Chris Martin stated that guitarist Jonny Buckland was largely involved in the creation of "Hurts Like Heaven", saying of the song: "'Hurts Like Heaven' is all Jonny. It only has two chords. The songs are group-y, it's guitar-y. Jonny is coming out of his cocoon. We're just trying some risky things."[6]

Reviews of the song have noted that the song contains signs of influences of the other artists; in their preview of Mylo Xyloto, Q noted that "the melodies, like the title, are a nod to the '80s heroes they so successfully channelled on A Rush of Blood to the Head, The Cure and Echo and the Bunnymen's influence looming large as Chris Martin sings like he's in a hurry [...] the chorus [...] is as upliftingly bittersweet as Robert Smith and co's best pop songs, whilst the "whoa oh oh" bridge provides the record's first stadium-singalong moment." Reviews from both Rolling Stone[7] and The A.V. Club have drawn comparisons to dance-punk band LCD Soundsystem, with the latter calling the song "a driving homage" to the band.[8]

Music video

The music video for "Hurts Like Heaven" was announced at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International convention. Coldplay posted a 30-second teaser trailer on Twitter on the evening of 5 October 2012. It was later released on 8 October 2012. The clip, which does not feature the band, is a comic book style animation set on a futuristic dystopian storyline and it's the animated version of the first number of the Mylo Xyloto comics. Directed by Mark Osborne with illustrations by Alejandro Fuentes, the video contains flashes of neons, the band's trademark over the course of Mylo Xyloto's promotions.

A frame from the music video showing Aiko and Lela drawing sparks over the "silencers" posters along a street of "Silencia".

The story is set in the world of "Silencia" ruled by a dictator: Major Minus, who wants to take colors and sounds off the streets and controls the population through propaganda (like posters on the walls that invite people to be silent) and his army of "silencers". The video follows Aiko and Lela, two "sparkers" (people who are able to use energy to draw bright and colorful graffiti on the walls), who, with other "sparkers", light up the streets of "Silencia" escaping from the "silencers" who eventually catch and arrest them.[9][10]

Critical reception

"Hurts Like Heaven" received generally positive reviews from critics. Will Hermes of Rolling Stone published a favourable review of "Hurts Like Heaven"; giving the track 3 and a half stars out of 5, he praised the song's "outstanding guitar asides", noting that the song's word rush "occasionally recalled LCD Soundsystem's 'All My Friends'".[7] In his review of Mylo Xyloto, Ian Cohen of Pitchfork Media called the song "a remarkably aerodynamic piece of all-purpose inspirational rock that never gets too pushy even with [Chris] Martin's meaningful/meaningless proclamations."[11] Josh Modell of The A.V. Club also reviewed the song positively, calling it a "nice kick in the formula", calling the band "expert formula-repeaters."[8] Mikael Wood of Spin wrote that the song "rides a zippy new-wave groove that justifies its Cure-conjuring title".[12] Andy Gill of The Independent wrote that the song "opens proceedings at a peak, the twinkly demeanour of its bustling pop layered with disparate guitar lines".[13]

Live performances

Recorded in 2010, the song was first performed at the 2011 Rock Im Park festival in Nuremberg, Germany on 4 June 2011.[14] It acts as an opener on both Mylo Xyloto and its corresponding tour, played immediately after the album's title track, "Mylo Xyloto", a 42-second instrumental that segues into "Hurts Like Heaven".

Remixes

An official remix by Kat Krazy was released on 28 December 2012[15][16]

Track listings

Digital download[17]
No.TitleLength
1."Hurts Like Heaven" (Edit)3:58
Promotional CD single[18]
No.TitleLength
1."Hurts Like Heaven" (Radio Edit)3:02
2."Hurts Like Heaven" (Album Version)4:23
3."Hurts Like Heaven" (Instrumental)4:22
7" vinyl picture disc[19]
No.TitleLength
1."Hurts Like Heaven" (7" Edit)3:17
2."Us Against the World" (From Live 2012)3:52

Charts

Weekly chart performance for "Hurts Like Heaven"
Chart (2011–2012) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[20] 8
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[21] 9
Iceland (RÚV)[22] 10
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[23] 2
South Korea Gaon International Chart[24] 21
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[25] 157
US Alternative Songs (Billboard)[26] 27

Release history

Region Date Format Label
Germany[27] 27 July 2012 Digital download EMI
United States[28][29][30] 30 July 2012 Parlophone
6 August 2012 Adult album alternative radio Capitol Records
7 August 2012 Modern rock radio
United Kingdom[31] 20 April 2013 7" Parlophone

References

  1. ↑ "Coldplay". Originals.last.fm. 13 January 2015.
  2. ↑ "NPR - Coldplay's 'Mylo Xyloto'". Npr.org. 12 January 2015.
  3. ↑ Wood, Mikael (24 October 2011). "Coldplay, 'Mylo Xyloto' (Capitol)". Spin. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  4. ↑ "Hurts Like Heaven Is Next Single – Watch Video Trailer". Coldplay Official Website. 5 October 2012. Archived from the original on 19 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  5. ↑ "Coldplay: News - Download a free MX Comic / Record Store Day release". 22 April 2013. Archived from the original on 22 April 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  6. ↑ "Coldplay drummer wanted Rihanna's vocal". The Independent. 21 September 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  7. 1 2 Hermes, Will (19 August 2011). "Hurts Like Heaven - Song Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 19 September 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  8. 1 2 Modell, Josh (25 October 2011). "Coldplay: Mylo Xyloto". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  9. ↑ "Coldplay - Hurts Like Heaven". Retrieved 8 October 2012 – via YouTube.
  10. ↑ Rowley, Alison (5 October 2012). "Coldplay preview new single video". Digitalspy.com. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  11. ↑ Cohen, Ian (26 October 2011). "Coldplay: Mylo Xyloto". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  12. ↑ Wood, Mikael (24 October 2011). "Coldplay, 'Mylo Xyloto' (Capitol)". Spin. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  13. ↑ Gill, Andy (21 October 2011). "Album: Coldplay, Mylo Xyloto (Parlophone)". The Independent. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  14. ↑ "Coldplay Debut "Hurts Like Heaven," "Major Minus," "Us Against the World," "Charlie Brown" In Germany". Stereogum. 6 June 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  15. ↑ Juicy Remixes (28 December 2012). "Coldplay - Hurts Like Heaven (Kat Krazy Remix)". Retrieved 28 December 2012 – via YouTube.
  16. ↑ "Coldplay - Hurts Like Heaven (Kat Krazy Remix)". Katkrazymusic.com. 28 December 2012. Archived from the original on 31 December 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  17. ↑ "Coldplay – Hurts Like Heaven (2012, 320 kbps, File)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  18. ↑ "Coldplay – Hurts Like Heaven (2012, CD)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  19. ↑ "Coldplay – Hurts Like Heaven (2013, Vinyl)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  20. ↑ "Coldplay – Hurts Like Heaven" (in Dutch). Ultratip.
  21. ↑ "Coldplay – Hurts Like Heaven" (in French). Ultratip.
  22. ↑ "Coldplay Chart History". RÚV. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  23. ↑ "Tipparade-lijst van week 42, 2012" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  24. ↑ "South Korea Gaon International Chart (Week: October 23, 2011 to October 30, 2011)" (in Korean). Gaon Chart. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  25. ↑ "CHART: CLUK Update 5.11.2011 (wk43)". Zobbel.de. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  26. ↑ "Chart Beat". Billboard.com. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  27. ↑ "Hurts Like Heaven – Single von Coldplay". iTunes Store (GER) (in German). Apple. Archived from the original on 17 January 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  28. ↑ "Hurts Like Heaven – Coldplay". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  29. ↑ "Future Releases on Triple A (AAA) Radio Stations". Allaccess.com. Archived from the original on 26 June 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
  30. ↑ "Future Releases on Alternative Radio Stations". Allaccess.com. Archived from the original on 26 June 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  31. ↑ "Download a free MX Comic / Record Store Day release". Coldplay.com. Archived from the original on 22 April 2013. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
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